Parking
Use Hāna Bay Beach Park off Keawa Place. Maui County lists 140 spaces, mostly unmarked along the access road; walk to Hāna Pier/boat ramp to start. No separate signed trail lot is listed.
Overview
About Hāna Bay Cliff Path
Why go
- A brief cliffside walk to a distinctive historical marker
Heads up
- Informal footing and unconfirmed access at the plaque endpoint
Map & elevation
The route
Loading the Road to Hana map
Full mapElevation0–160 ft
Plan your hike
Before you go
Parking
Safety
The highest, rockiest slopes around here are a summer buffet for grizzly bears.
Road to Hana Tour Guide
Your drive to Hāna Bay Cliff Path, narrated.
Parkwolf is a GPS audio tour guide for Road to Hana. As you drive, it chimes in with what’s ahead: hidden gems, upcoming stops, history, geology, and wildlife, right through your car’s speakers.
See the Road to Hana audio tourRecorded for this trailhead
Hāna Bay’s Picnic Shore0:00 / 0:30
“You're nearing Hāna Bay Beach Park, a small dark-sand beach with a shaded lawn and covered picnic pavilion.”
Plays as you drive up to this trailhead in the Parkwolf Road to Hana Tour Guide.
More stories near here in the app
- Hāna Cultural Center’s Local Stories
- Hasegawa General Store and Hāna Supplies
- Kaʻahumanu and the Meal That Changed Hawaiʻi
- Kōkī Beach and Huli Huli Chicken
- 48 audio storiesacross Road to Hana’s roads, triggered by GPS as you drive
- Wildlife heatmapsfor Hawaiian Monk Seal, Green Sea Turtle, Frigatebird, and 13 more
- Works offlinemaps, 13 trails, 39 places, and audio download before you lose signal
- CarPlay readysimple controls built for the drive
“Fantastic app with many points of information… It’s great to just turn on while you’re driving and it gives you an audio tour of the national Park. We love it!!!!”
Trail guide
Hiking Hāna Bay Cliff Path
A short walk above Hāna BayHāna Bay Cliff Path is an informal 0.
Hāna Bay Cliff Path is an informal 0.4-mile out-and-back from the bay's pier and boat ramp over a wooded coastal headland. The footpath follows the cliff above the water to a bronze plaque associated with Queen Kaʻahumanu's birthplace, near a cave, then returns the same way. Allow about 30–60 minutes. Published figures differ slightly, from 0.4 to 0.5 mile. This is a short history-and-shoreline stop, not a substantial hike.
The route and its edgeStart beside Hāna Pier and follow the footpath east across the wooded headland.
Start beside Hāna Pier and follow the footpath east across the wooded headland. The mapped trail corridor is about 0.19 mile one way; the hike's distance counts the return. The route runs close to the coast, with open water below. Available descriptions don't pin down the surface or any edge protection, so take care around the drop and turn back if the tread is eroded or access is posted closed.
The birthplace plaqueA bronze plaque marks the site as Queen Kaʻahumanu's birthplace; it records her life dates as…
A bronze plaque marks the site as Queen Kaʻahumanu's birthplace; it records her life dates as 1768–1832. A cave nearby is commonly identified as the birthplace as well, but that specific cave attribution is local tradition rather than independently verified history. Keep this walk to the shore path and plaque. The lighthouse and summit are separate places, not extensions of this route.
Start at the beach parkUse Hāna Bay Beach Park off Keawa Place, then walk to the pier and boat-ramp end.
Use Hāna Bay Beach Park off Keawa Place, then walk to the pier and boat-ramp end. The park has public restrooms, a water tap, showers and picnic areas; none is on the cliff path. No food venue was identified at the trailhead. The park is public, but a land manager's confirmation of access along the full footpath and to the plaque was not found. Check posted boundaries and respect any access limits before continuing.
Wildlife
Wildlife in Road to Hana
10 sightingsHawaiian Monk SealMost seen around 11 AMSighting map
127 sightingsGreen Sea TurtleMost seen around 5 PMSighting map
86 sightingsFrigatebirdMost seen around noonSighting map
17 sightingsRed-footed BoobyMost seen around 6 AMSighting map
73 sightingsNene (Hawaiian Goose)Most seen around 6 AMSighting map
58 sightingsHawaiian StiltMost seen around 8 AMSighting mapSighting maps show where each species has been reported across Road to Hana. Wildlife moves, so no sighting is guaranteed.
